Apr 22 2024: Bitcoin’s price showed a slight increase on Monday, stabilizing after recent declines following the halving event that occurred over the weekend. However, the launch of a new token minting protocol called Runes on the largest blockchain network in the world caused a surge in transaction fees.
Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin rose by 1.4% to reach $65,917.5 by 01:19 ET (05:19 GMT). This rise came amidst improved risk appetite due to reduced concerns about a Middle East conflict, although Bitcoin remained within a trading range established over the previous month.
The launch of the Runes protocol, which allows the creation of digital tokens on the Bitcoin blockchain, was the highlight over the weekend, overshadowing the halving event that halved mining rewards on the blockchain.
Runes, developed by Casey Rodarmor, differs from previous protocols like ordinals by enabling users to create new tokens, similar to what is possible on the Ethereum blockchain.
This protocol launch led to a sevenfold increase in Bitcoin transaction fees over the weekend, reaching a record high of nearly $130 on April 20, before stabilizing around $35 by Monday, according to data from Blockchain.com.
While Bitcoin miners stand to benefit from the surge in fees, traders largely overlooked the impact of the halving on mining rewards during this period.
Despite concerns over increased US interest rates and strength in the dollar, which limited major price movements in cryptocurrencies, Ethereum rose by 1.1% to $3,208.95, and other tokens like XRP and Solana also saw minor gains.
